Top French cops held over drug allegations

Euronews

Four top police officials in France have been arrested over drug trafficking and corruption allegations.

One of them is Michel Neyret, second-in-command in the city of Lyon. The 55-year-old deputy chief has 20 years on the force, and if he is found guilty, it could cause a big scandal.

Internal affairs officers from the General Inspection Service, known as IGS, are investigating.

Emmanuel Roux, the head of the Union of National Police Commissioners, said the arrests came as a big surprise: “Other commissioners and many officers are in a state of shock. What is certain is that this type of case involving a high-level commissioner is very rare.”

Following the arrest of Neyret and his wife on Thursday – the other three officers were taken into custody on Friday.

Neyret had gained a solid reputation for cutting drug crime in central Lyon – France’s second largest metropolitan area after the capital Paris.